Roll-able Display from HP: Just Don't Roll It for Now, Please

Hewlett-Packard has just rolled out its newest design in the way of flexible display screens, or “digital paper,” as they are sometimes called. This is part of a collaboration with Arizona State University, and it began quite a while ago but no one has seen or heard anything about it for a couple years at this point.

This week, however, a Dutch blog called Hardware.info got a short video of their latest prototype. Fortunately, the presenter was speaking in English.

As explained by Phil McKinney, the faceless guy in the video, the current prototype cannot actually stand being rolled up more than a half dozen or so times before breaking or having display issues. Still, this is definitely one of the lightest screens around and it’s pretty incredible if you trace the progress from cathode ray tube to the poster-thin screen in this video.

You can always tack it up on your wall for now, but any hopes you had of putting it in your pocket or perhaps wrapping it around your head will have to wait for later prototypes. The size, weight and flexibility of this recent display mark another milestone on the route to devices that can meet those needs, though.